Commencement - Class of 1943Post-War Talk Features Ilion School ExercisesIlion - Don Bates, world traveler and newspaper correspondent, outlined what this nation may face in post-war rehabilitation as 99 graduates of Ilion high school received diplomas last night at commencement exercises in the Capitol theatre. He sought to prepare the class to face with confidence a world torn by war's bitter strife, speaking on the subject, "After the War --- What Then?" "The United States," Bates said, "will have a tremendous influence on post-war rehabilitation, but she must prepare herself morally and spiritually before she can exercise that influence. "It is folly to expect that we can settle the relationships of the Arabs and Jews, the Germans, and non-Germans, until we have solved our own Negro and white, capital and labor problems which are eating like a cancerous growth into our democracy." He declared that the only way to repay "these youths who are playing a much greater part in this war than most realize" was to place men and women in public office who wholeheartedly profess and practice democracy. He said that to keep faith with those in the armed forces, the nation must forget party lines and throw out of office any who are not loyal to democracy. Diplomas Presented Mrs. Genevieve Mack, president of the Board of Education, presented the class 51 academic, 27 college entrance and 21 general diplomas after the graduates had been introduced by Earl P. Watkin, school superintendent, and J. Guy Prindle, principal, had announced the prize awards. The program also included the salutatory address, "Present Day Education," by Joan Hawes; the valedictory address, "Education After This War," Shirley Pitt, selections by the High School Band and High School Choir and invocation and benediction by the Rev. Fred. W. Ainslie. Presentation of a new prize for the outstanding citizen of the school, offered in memory of Madeline Peters by Ralph Peters, who gave $20, was divided between Margaret Morris and Eldon Dibble. Other prizes of special values went to English, Wilma Browning and Shirley Pett; mathematics, Joan Hawes and William Billington; history, William Billington and Claire Crump; Latin, Rudolph Backman and Elizabeth Thom; French, Joan Hawes and Shirley Pett; science, Howard Morse and Donald Smith; commercial, Camilla Jarvis and Rita Anderson, and industrial arts, Hiram Skinner and Harry Sutherland.
Other Prizes Listed Other prizes of special values were: Music, $5, Backman; art, $5, Shirley Pett; shorthand two years and transcription, $2.50, Camilla Jarvis; mechanical drawing two years, $2.50, Harry Sutherland; American History, Legion Auxiliary, $2.50, Bernard Duval; dramatics, $2.50, John Gilmartin; RPI medal, Morse; Bausch and Lomb medal, Morse; Stone & Luke scholarship cup, class of 1915; Becker College commerical pin, Camilla Jarvis; Varsity Club cup, Louis Sheffield, and Lever Cup, George Sporer. The cash for the prizes included $10 each from the Ilion National Bank, Manufacturers Bank, Ilion Building and Loan Association and Remington Arms Company; $5 each from Ilion Lodge of Odd Fellows, Ilion Lodge of Elks, Ilion Knights of Columbus, Mrs. Abram Zoller, Beta Chi Sorority, and Philia Club; $2.50 each from Travelers Club, Historical Club and Business and Professional Women of Herkimer County.
First Published March 22, 1999 - Updated Jan 13, 2015
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